CPA Vision Project Statement
Seeing its livelihood threatened by software
programs, the accounting profession set out to reinvent itself. The
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants plled members and
organizations to identify the primary values, competencies, and services
that distinguish their profession. The result is this "CPA Vision
Project" statement.
Core Purpose
CPAs ... making sense of a changing and complex world.
Vision Statement
CPAs are the trusted professionals who enable people and
organizations to shape their future. Combining insight with integrity,
CPAs deliver value by:
- communicating the total picture with clarity and objectivity,
- translating complex information into critical knowledge,
- anticipating and creating opportunities, and
- designing pathways that transform vision into reality.
Top Five Core Values
Continuing Education and Life-long Learning. CPAs
highly value continuing education beyond certification and believe it is
important to continuously acquire new skills and knowledge.
Competence. CPAs are able to perform high-quality
work in a capable, efficient, and appropriate manner.
Integrity. CPAs conduct themselves with honesty and
professional ethics.
Attuned to Broad Business Issues. CPAs are in tune
with the overall realities of the business environment.
Objectivity. CPAs are able to deal with information
free of distortions, personal bias, or conflicts of interest.
Top Five Core Competencies
Communications and Leadership Skills. Able to give
and exchange information within meaningful context and with appropriate
delivery and interpersonal skills. Able to influence, inspire, and
motivate others to achieve results.
Strategic and Critical Thinking Skills. Able to link
data, knowledge, and insight together to provide quality advice for
strategic decision-making.
Focus on the Customer, Client, and Market. Able to
anticipate and meet the changing needs of clients, employers, customers,
and markets better than competitors.
Interpretation of Converging Information. Able to
interpret and provide a broader context using financial and nonfinancial
information.
Technologically Adept. Able to use and leverage
technology in ways that add value to clients, customers, and
employers.
Top Five Core Services
Assurance and Information Integrity. Provide a
variety of services that improve and assure the quality of information,
or its context, for business decision-making.
Management Consulting and Performance Management.
Provide advice and insight on the financial and nonfinancial performance
of an organization's operational and strategic processes through broad
business knowledge and judgment.
Technology Services. Provide services that leverage
technology to improve objectives and decision-making, including business
application processes, system integrity, knowledge management, system
security, and integration of new business processes and practices.
Financial Planning. Provide a variety of services to
organizations and individuals that interpret and add value by using a
wide range of financial information. These include everything from tax
planning and financial statement analysis to structuring investment
portfolios and complex financial transactions.
International Services. Provide services to support
and facilitate commerce in the global market.
For more detailed information about the CPA vision and the vision
process, please visit cpavision.org.
This site includes an array of resources for visioning, planning, and
achieving a vision from both an individual and institutional
perspective. These resources include profiles of CPA pathfinders, "white
papers" on future-oriented topics, and a copy of CPA Vision Project -
2011 and Beyond, which reports on the results of the grassroots vision
effort and serves as a valuable vision tool. © 2000 AICPA
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